Biden slams SCOTUS refusal to block Texas abortion law, vows to pursue legal remedies

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she's bringing legislation to codify Roe to a vote. 

President Joe Biden says he is launching a "whole-of-government effort" in response to the Supreme Court allowing the nation's most restrictive abortion law to take effect in Texas, directing his Gender Policy Council and the White House legal team to tap federal agencies to ensure women maintain their constitutional right to an abortion.

The new law in Texas has raised concerns among Democrats and abortion rights advocates that there will be efforts in other states to imitate it. The Supreme Court ruling provides a fresh incentive to act on abortion on a federal level while reigniting the national political divide over abortion and the high court. "While the Chief Justice was clear to stress that the action by the Supreme Court is not a final ruling on the future of Roe, the impact of last night's decision will be immediate and requires an immediate response," Biden said in a statement on Thursday.